Better Care Higher Standards
Better Care Higher Standards
A Charter for Long Term Care 2008-2009
Section One - About the Charter
- What is this charter for?
- Who is this charter for?
- What difference will this charter make?
- Charter Champions
- Helping us to help you
Section two - The charter standards
- Finding out about services
- Understanding and responding to your needs
- Finding a suitable place to live
- Helping you to stay independent
- Getting the right health care
- Helping carers to care
Section three - Meeting your expectations
Section four - Further information
Section One - About the Charter
This charter tells people needing long term care and support what standards of service they can expect from Tameside Adult Services, Local Health Services and Tameside Housing.
This charter is aimed at anyone aged 18 or over and living in Tameside, who has difficulties associated with old age, long term illness or disability. It is also for carers looking after someone in these circumstances.
What difference will this charter make?
This charter will help you to know what standards you can reasonably expect from Tameside Adult Services, Local Health Services and Tameside Housing Authority, and what to do if you think that standards aren't being met.
Services will improve as Tameside Adult Services, local health services and Tameside Housing work in a more coordinated way to meet the charter standards.
Adult Services, Primary Care Trust and Housing have each nominated a senior manager to be a charter champion. Their role is to monitor the standards set out in this charter and to work with individual managers to develop new standards. The charter champions are:
Martin Garnett
Tameside Adult Services - Service Unit Manager for Older People
Tameside Council Offices, Wellington Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 6DL
0161 342 3466 
0161 342 3793 
Send a Message to Older Peoples Service
Margaret Hyde
Tameside and Glossop Primary Care Trust
New Century House, Progress way, Windmill Lane, Denton, M34 2GP
0161 304 5333 0161 304 5400 m.hyde@nhs.net
Andrew Leah
Housing Services Manager
Tameside MBC Level 3, Council Offices, Wellington Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, 0L6 6DL
0161 342 2562 0161 342 2282 Send a Message to the Housing Services Manager
Higher expectations will, in the long run, produce better services. It is important that you know what to expect from services and to ask for what you feel you are entitled to. You also have an important part to play in achieving a good outcome by:
- Giving all the information that may be needed about your personal and financial circumstances;
- Keeping appointments and telling people if you can't make them
- Keeping all the service providers up-to-date with what you need from them and letting them know if you do not need a particular service anymore;
- Looking after your equipment and returning it when you don't need it any more;
- Telling us how you think services can be improved.
Section Two - The Charter Standards
This section sets out the charter standards we are working to. It describes the level of service you can reasonably expect when you come to us for help. The standards are divided into six areas covering all aspects of finding out about services, service provision and help for carers.
The standards are based on the following values:
- Treating you with courtesy, honesty and respecting your dignity;
- Helping you achieve and sustain the maximum possible independence;
- Working in partnership with you to provide the services you need;
- Involving you in decisions and giving you enough information to make informed choices;
- Helping you to give your views through advocacy and other representative organisations;
- Treating you fairly on the basis of need and not discriminating against you on the basis of age, sex, race, religion, disability or sexual orientation;
- Making sure that you feel able to complain about the standard of services you get and you are not victimised because you complain.
- When you or your carer contacts Adult Services, the Local Health Services or Tameside Housing, the person you speak to will be able to find the right person to help you and make contact on your behalf if you ask them to.
- We will discuss with you the choices and different kinds of help available to you.
- We will ask for your permission to share information between health, housing and Adult Services. This will stop you having to tell different people the same things over again.
- You can ask to see information we hold about you.
- Important information will be made available in different formats. For example you can ask for information on audio tape, or in community languages such as Gujarati, Urdu and Bengali.
- You will be given details of how to get in touch with local organisations that provide independent advice and advocacy schemes, for example the Citizens Advice Bureau, People First (an advocacy service for people with learning disabilities).
- Tameside Adult Services, Health and Housing are working together to produce public information for older people which will not only tell people about available services but also how to stay active. Examples of projects include:
- Website for Carers in Tameside. This provides a wide range of information to help Carers in their caring role.
- Information for older people. These pages provide a wide range of information and useful links for older people.
- The number of leaflet racks containing information on Adult Services in public places in Tameside has increased, including racks at Tameside Hospital.
- There is a Patient Information Centre at Tameside Hospital providing information on health and social care matters; post hospital care, relevant council information and self-help groups.
0161 331 5332 0161 331 5463 infopatient@tgh.nhs.uk - Touch Screen information kiosks across Tameside, providing information for the public on health topics including internet access to health related information.
- A development worker to work with the black and ethnic minority communities to ensure access to information regarding social care services.
- You can also consult the Housing Register
. It lists all available and potential accommodation owned by Registered Social Landlords in Tameside and private landlords, whose property has been inspected by housing standards offices.
Understanding and Responding to your needs
- Individual services will advise you on current waiting times. Family doctors will advise on waiting times for health.
- Individual services will work together in your best interest and take into account your views and wishes.
- When you are assessed by health, housing or Adult Services, the worker will make a decision on what services they can offer based on set eligibility criteria which you can ask to see details of. If for any reason we cannot provide direct help, we will try to redirect you to someone who can.
- Not all services are free but we will always tell you how charges are set. If necessary, we will provide advice on how to meet the charges. Adult Services provides information on charges for care at home, also permanent stays in care homes and temporary stays in care homes.
- We will fully involve you in your care plan assessment. If you have a carer we will involve them as well if you wish. If your carer spends a lot of time looking after you, we can offer them a separate assessment to find out what help they need to be able to continue looking after you.
- We will give you a written copy of your care plan to keep. If you don't understand it, please let us know. If you need your copy in another language or format, please let us know.
- We will review your needs regularly with you to ensure you are receiving the correct help
- Health and Adult Services staff have signed up to a "single assessment process", which allows the sharing of information to improve the quality of care and minimise the need for you to give a wide variety of people the same information. By sharing information we will be better able to plan services for the future.
Finding a Suitable place to live
The Housing Partnerships web-based Housing Register allows members of the public to apply for social housing far more easily and be given realistic waiting times for different property types. The system is interactive and gives users information on available property, potential letting's, housing information, the towns and neighbourhoods of Tameside and allows people to register with the Housing Association and change existing registrations. It also contains information on those properties in the private rental sector which have been inspected by a TMBC Housing Standards Officer.
At some time you may need help to stay in your own home and this can be accommodated. However, there are also occasions when, for a variety of reasons, this is not possible and other options have to be found.
There are several options available to you:
- Existing housing with some changes
- Sheltered Housing with support from:
- Extra Care Housing with 24 hour care support on hand, if you need it.
- Care Homes in Tameside, where ongoing care needs can be met within a home environment.
If you need adaptations to be made to your property, we can help by organising for the work to be designed and carried out. We can also advise you if any grant is available and approve your grant within 6 months of receiving your application.
Sheltered accommodation is available to you if you wish to remain independent and offers assistance when needed through a warden support and community alarm service.
Extra Care Housing is available to you if you require more services than can be provided at home but less than provided by care homes. Care is usually provided by a dedicated team of care workers
If you have a greater reliance on care services and your needs can only be met within a care home environment, help is available to assist in making the right choice. Placement by Adult Services in a care home is subject to an assessment.
The Supporting People programme began in April 2003 to provide support services to a wide range of vulnerable people. It promotes straightforward, cost-effective and reliable housing-related solutions which complement available care services and support independent living. Tameside MBC manages the programme to ensure the needs of service users in the area are met; that service standards are set; information on quality and performance of service is collected as well as regular reviews conducted.
The housing-related support services funded by Supporting People already contribute to health objectives, helping to improve the physical and mental health of service users. For example:
- Helping people to remain living independently at home can prevent them from having to move to expensive and inappropriate institutional care, and often help them move back home after a period in hospital;
- Young homeless people, recognised as particularly vulnerable to ill health and often with mental health or substance misuse problems, can be helped to settle in a new home and learn basic life skills that other people take for granted, like how to pay rent, shop for food and so on. This stable housing can enable them to get training, counselling and other assistance in stabilising their lives, and decreasing their need to access health services;
- People with learning difficulties can often find themselves living in institutional care such as hospitals, which are both expensive and unsuited to their needs. Enabling such people to live in the community, perhaps in a shared house or other supported accommodation, can greatly improve their quality of life and free acute care resources for those who really need them.
Through strategically linking aspects of the commissioning and delivery of Supporting People services with those of health services, housing-related support can make a valuable contribution to the health agenda.
For further information on the local Supporting People Programme please contact the Supporting People Team on 0161 342 3656.
Helping you to stay independent
- When we arrange services in your home, for example home care, we will aim to tell you who will be coming to help you, when they will be coming, how long they will be there for and what they will do. If someone is not able to turn up, you will be told the reason why and we will aim to make up any lost hours.
- We will give you a written record of the services we arrange (we call this a care plan). This will tell you who to contact in an emergency or if you have general questions or you think you're not getting the right services.
- We will review the services we arrange for you after the first three months and then at regular intervals there after.
- The people who come to your home to help with personal care needs such as washing and bathing are trained to do these tasks. You, and if you agree your family or carer, will be asked how you prefer to be helped. Your views will be noted on your care plan and respected.
- If you are living, or are about to live in a residential or nursing home you will be given a care plan which describes how the staff in the home will help you. The staff will be trained and you will be asked how you prefer to be helped. The care plan will be reviewed with you and, if you want, your family, at least every 6 months. You will be offered an independent advocate to help you put forward your views at the review.
- Your contract with the home will say what is covered by the basic price and what is extra.
- We can also arrange for you to have a Direct Payment which will enable you to purchase services direct from service providers, or alternatively pay for your own personal assistant. .
- There are three time scales for ambulances to arrive at the scene for a patient.
- Code Red - patients who are or who may be in a life-threatening situation and would benefit from a timely clinical intervention. An ambulance will arrive within 8 minutes to this scene in 75% of cases.
- Code Amber - patients who require urgent face to face clinical attention, but are not immediately in a life threatening situation. An ambulance will arrive within 14 minutes in 95% of cases.
- Code Green - patients who do not require immediate or urgent attention, and may be suitable for alternative pathways of care. An ambulance should arrive within an hour in such a case.
- Staff in health, housing and Adult Services will work with you and, if you agree, your carer, to make the necessary arrangements for leaving hospital.
- If you need long term health care we will discuss this with you and involve you in any decisions that need to be made.
- We will give you full information about your condition and medication. We will explain the options for treatment and the likely outcome.
- If, after discussing your health care with a member of the team, you are still not clear or happy, you can ask to see another member of the team and explain your concerns, or you can discuss this with your doctor. You can also ask your doctor for a second opinion.
- If your doctor thinks you need to see a specialist consultant, we are working to give you your first outpatient appointment within 13 weeks of receipt of that request or sooner (for example, 2 weeks for suspected cancer) if required. The maximum waiting time is currently 17 weeks for routine referrals.
- If a specialist consultant thinks you need surgical treatment, we are working to ensure your operation is carried out within 6 months, or sooner depending on the urgency of the case. The maximum wait is currently 9 months for routine procedures.
- If a patient's operation is cancelled at the 'last minute' by the hospital (either on the day of admission or day of surgery) for non- clinical reasons, the hospital will offer another date for admission within 28 days. If this cannot be arranged, the hospital will find an alternative admission at the time and hospital of the patient's choice.
- A Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) has been established in association with Tameside Hospital and the Primary Care Trust to help patients get the best out of our local health service. If you have any concerns with your health care you should contact PALS on 0161 922 4466.
- If you spend a lot of time looking after someone, you have a right to ask Adult Services for your own assessment. The results of the assessment will be discussed with you and written down.
- If you prefer, you can complete a self-assessment form to tell us about your needs as a carer.
- You will be offered support for your caring responsibilities and staff will discuss options with you, including the opportunity to have a break from caring.
- You will be given information about the services provided by Tameside Carers Centre.
Section Three - Meeting your expectations
This section describes how we check the charter standards are met. It also tells you about the work we are doing to improve them.
We use lots of different ways to check our performance meets the charter standards. These include:
- User satisfaction surveys
- Recording and monitoring of waiting times and delayed hospital discharge for people over 75
- Regular monitoring of residential and nursing homes. Inspection is now carried out by the Commision for Social Care Inspection
- Recording and reporting on specific targets set by Government
- Monitoring the nature of complaints
A summary report on how ellTameside Council is serving adults who use Adult Serivces is available at Commission for Social Care Inspectorate (CSCI) Website.
We get a lot of positive feedback about our services but we are continually looking at ways to make improvements.
The areas we will be working on during 2008 and 2009 include:
- Reducing waiting times for assessment and provision of services
- Reducing waiting times for the provision of daily living
- All service users will receive a copy of their assessment within a week of completion
- All service users will have a copy of their costed care plan when services start
- All service users will receive a review of their services at least once a year
- All carers will be offered a carer's assessment
- We will continue to improve the quality and availability of public information
- Reduce the waiting times for operations
- Reduce the number of people who experience delays in their discharge from hospital
- Involving service users in the planning and delivery of services
What you can do if standards are not met
Tameside Adult Services is committeed to providing quality services. We need to hear from you if you have any complaints, suggestions or compliments about the service you receive.
Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
PALS aims to help you sort out any problems related to your health care before they get to the stage where you feel you need to make a formal complaint. PALS can give you information, help you clarify problems and look at options or negotiate with health professionals on your behalf.
Primary Care Trust, PALS, Tameside General Hospital, Charlesworth Building, Fountain Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 9RW
0161 922 4466 0161 922 4009 
0161 922 4010
Pennine Care Trust, PALS, Fairfield General Hospital, Rochdale Old Road, Bury, BL9 7TD
0161 778 3991 0161 778 2433
Section Four - Further Information
If you have questions about available services and the standards we work to, please contact one of the following information points.
Tameside Adult Services, Stalybridge Resource Centre, Waterloo Road, Stalybridge, SK15 2AU
0161 342 2400 0161 342 2460 0161 342 3602
Primary Care Trust , New Century House, Progress Way, Windmill Lane, Denton, M34 2GP
0161 304 5300 0161 304 5400
Housing Strategy Section, Tameside Council Offices, Wellington Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 6DL
0161 342 2387 0161 342 2868
Tameside Carers Centre, 50 Warrington Street, Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 7JX
0161 342 3344 0161 342 3720 0161 342 3721
Commission for Social Care Inspection , 2nd Floor, Heritage Wharf, Portland Basin, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL7 0QD
0161 214 8120 0161 214 8156
Patient Advice and Liason Service (PALS) , Tameside General Hospital, Charleworth Building, Fountian Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 9RW
0161 922 4466 0161 922 4009 0161 922 4010 pals@tgh.nhs.uk
There are a number of other organisations in Tameside that offer information, advice and support. These include:
Age Concern Tameside , 131 Katherine Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 7SN
0161 308 5000 0161 308 5001
Age Concern Tameside provide information, advice and a range of practical services to older people and their families and carers.
Anchor Staying Put , 31 Katherine Street,Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 7AW
0161 339 5656
Citizens Advice Bureau (C.A.B) , 9 George Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 6AQ
0161 330 2156 0161 344 2139 0161 343 1698
In addition to a general advice service, CAB administers the ChoicE shop which provides information to the public on residential and nursing care homes. CAB also provides advocacy for older people placed in residential or nursing care by Social Care and Health and for older people getting home care through Adult Services.
New Charter Housing Trust Housing Options Centre , 119-125 Old Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside OL6 7RL 0161 331 2700 0161 331 2701
The Housing Options Centre provides advice and information on your housing rights, alternative housing options and support to households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
Mind , 216 - 218, Katherine Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 7AS
0161 330 9223 0161 339 1100
Mind support people with mental health problems and their families and carers through information, advice, advocacy, and social activities.
People First Tameside, Suite 10, St Michaels Square, Stamford Street, Ashton-under-Lyne
0161 308 3699
People First is an independent advocacy service for people with learning disabilities in Tameside.